Denver Newsroom, Jul 21, 2022 / 16:00 pm
Nestled in the farmland of Port Tobacco, Maryland stands the oldest Carmelite monastery in America. Founded in 1790, the Mount Carmel Monastery was the first Catholic convent for religious women in the U.S. The women who live here are cloistered nuns who spend their days in prayer behind the iron gates inside their walled-off property.
While visitors are welcome to enjoy the peaceful outdoor spaces of the monastery, the chapel, and the gift shop, very few are welcome behind the walls. Bill Hoxie is one of these select few. He is the sisters’ carpenter and groundskeeper. He grew up Protestant and never thought he would end up working at a Catholic monastery, but after offering to do a project for the sisters several years ago he has been working there ever since.
“The sisters are truly in love with Jesus in a way that I’d never witnessed,” Hoxie said in an interview with EWTN News In Depth. “Of course, when you’re in love, you’re happy. So the sisters are the happiest women I’ve ever met in my life.”